


There's one way to ask him

by betsib



Category: The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: M/M, Slow Build, Threesome - M/M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-31
Updated: 2014-01-03
Packaged: 2018-01-06 20:00:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 17,021
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1110935
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/betsib/pseuds/betsib
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Percy doesn't think it's fair how well Jason gets along with Nico. Jason doesn't like how Nico always pays more attention to Percy. Nico is just trying hide his increasingly complicated feelings towards the other two. </p><p>All in all, they're hardly the ideal team to go on a quest to rescue a god.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Percy wasn’t surprised when Annabeth broke up with him.

Maybe he should have been, considering all they had gone through together, including Tartarus, but the year after Gaea's defeat had proved that they were only good for each other when shit was going down. When they didn’t have to save each other's lives on a daily basis the spark disappeared, and they had both realized it.

“I just don’t see a future for us,” Annabeth had said, and Percy had to admit that the future he’d seen, the two of them raising a family in New Rome, had only been a daydream. Sure, he liked to think about living a long peaceful life, but if he went two weeks without getting attacked he got bored. Percy had been risking his life constantly since he was twelve years old. Was it really that strange that he’d turned into a bit of an adrenaline junkie?

Annabeth was different. She enjoyed intellectual thrill more than fighting, and was able to sit still for hours at a time, reading or investigating Daedelus’ laptop, or even just drawing buildings. She still wanted to become an architect. Percy almost envied her. He would probably be stuck training demigods at Camp Half-Blood or Camp Jupiter and going on occasional quests for the rest of his life. The worst part was that he’d probably enjoy it.

So no, he really hadn’t been surprised, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t upset about it.

“I mean, I actually still love her,” he complained to Jason after a long, victorless sparring match. “And I think she loves me too. But she still broke up with me.”

“That sucks, man.” Jason said, tiredly. Percy figured he’d probably heard enough about Percy’s relationship problems by now. He had been pretty vocal about it all the way through the match after all. He was tempted to keep complaining, just to see how long he could go on before Jason told him to shut up, but in the end he decided against it.  
“So you and Piper, how’s that going?” he asked instead, trying to sound interested, but Jason just shook his head.

“I don’t know. I don’t see her very often, with her staying with her dad and all,” he said. “I think she might have found someone else, but I haven’t actually asked her.”

“That’s rough,” Percy said sympathetically. Out of _Argo II_ ’s three couples, only Hazel and Frank still seemed happy together. Percy had actually overheard them talking about the possibilities of getting married about a month ago, when he last visited Camp Jupiter. He honestly thought they were all way too young for marriage, but Hazel was from the forties. Marriage was probably really important to her. As for Leo, he had left some time ago on a quest to find Calypso’s island, refusing any help from the others. They got updates from him occasionally. 

Percy and Jason sat in silence for a while, thinking about girl trouble, then Percy begun to laugh.

“Man, we’re pathetic,” he said. “We could just as well bake brownies and watch romantic comedies for the rest of the evening.”

Jason smiled. “I love brownies,” he said jokingly. “I’m game if you are.”

“Right, Leo’s got that great recipe. I bet we could find it somewhere,” Percy said, laughing because they were probably going to go through with it. Then Nico appeared from the shadows.

“Hey, Nico! What’s up?” Percy greeted, wondering if he could get Nico to join their brownie evening. It didn’t seem likely.

The son of Hades took two steps towards them, then toppled over. He fell bonelessly to the ground, face first.

“Nico!” Jason shouted, reaching the boy a second quicker than Percy, but only because he flew. Nico was struggling to get up, and Jason and Percy both lent a hand to help him. The fact that Nico let them was worrying enough. When Percy realized the ground beneath him was red he felt ice in his stomach. Nico’s dark clothing made it hard to see, but he was definitely bleeding. A lot.

“I came to warn you. We may have a problem,” Nico said, breathing heavily.

“Later,” Percy said harshly. “We need to get you to the Apollo cabin. Jason?”

“On it,” Jason said, grabbing a hold of Nico and flying off with him like Superman with Lois Lane. Nico didn’t make a move to stop him, which meant he must have been either dying or unconscious. Percy hoped to the gods it was the later.

Reaching the Apollo cabin by foot took a bit longer than by Jason, and Nico was already being fed liquid ambrosia by the time he arrived. Jason was standing by, looking worried.

“He had a pretty serious stab wound in his shoulder, but they say it’s mostly exhaustion," Jason told him before Percy had a chance to ask. Percy sighed of relief.

“Thank the gods," he said. “Is he conscious yet?”

“Not yet. They say it might take a while," Jason frowned, looking over at the bed where Nico lay. “He shouldn’t be out there doing things like this alone.”

“Agreed. But try telling him that.”

“I have. Repeatedly," Jason said bitterly. “He doesn’t listen.”

Percy studied the worried expression on Jason’s face curiously. Something had happened between Nico and Jason while Percy was in Tartarus, but nobody knew what, and they didn’t talk about it. Apart from Hazel, Jason was probably the closest person to Nico right now, and in a strange way Percy was jealous. He had known the boy longer, after all.

A groan from the bed told them Nico was waking up. Percy and Jason both hurried to his bedside, and Nico looked up at them. He looked confused for a second, then his face resumed the familiar expression of slight irritation.

“How are you feeling?” Jason asked gently, like Nico’s expression didn’t bother him. Nico made a face at him.

“Like I’ve been stabbed in the shoulder,” he said. “Other than that, I’m having a ball.”

“What happened?” Percy asked. “You said you needed to warn us about something.”

“Right. Camp’s about to get attacked again,” Nico said tiredly. “Also a god has apparently been kidnapped. I don’t know which one.”

“What?” Percy exclaimed. “When?”

“We should go get Chiron,” Jason said gravely. “Then Nico can tell us everything from the beginning.”

“Right,” Percy said, standing still a moment before he realized they were waiting for _him_ to go. “I’ll be right back.”

As he ran to the Big House, he tried not to be hurt by the fact that Nico obviously didn’t want Percy anywhere near him. He still didn’t know why the boy hated him so much, especially not since he got along so well with Jason. Saving Percy’s life all the time also didn’t make sense if Nico couldn’t stand having him around. 

Once he’d returned to the Apollo cabin with Chiron Nico told his story. He had been helping Thanatos track down some of the souls that escaped during the war, and by accident he had stumbled on the remains of Gaea’s army, now under the command of an escaped soul. Nico had barely managed to escape.

“Do you know which soul?” Chiron asked.

Nico nodded. “Menelaus, king of Mycenae. He told me so himself. Says he’s bitter that the Romans and Greeks have made peace. Thanatos can’t get to him because of the god he’s imprisoned.”

“And you don’t know which god.”

“No. I overheard some cyclops say that the original plan had been to capture Aphrodite, but they trapped someone else instead. They caught me before I could figure out who it was. Some minor god, probably.”

“How did you get away?” Jason asked, and Nico smiled bitterly.

“I sucked up to him and told him I was interested in joining,” he said. “He didn’t completely buy it, but it lowered their guard enough for me to summon some skeletons as a distraction and run away. I almost didn’t make it.”

“Any idea when they’ll attack?” Percy asked, but Nico shook his head.

“Sorry. But they’re still gathering forces, so I think we have time,” he said. ”You should announce a quest to free the god or something.”

“That does seem wise,” Chiron agreed, eyeing Percy, who nodded immediately. Like he’d say no to a quest anyway.

“What are you going to do?” Jason asked Nico, who shrugged thoughtlessly and then winced at the pain his shoulder caused him.

“I’ll try to help,” he said. “I could probably distract Menelaus or something.”

“You’re not going back there alone,” Percy said. “And you’re not going anywhere until you’re healed.”

“Try and stop me,” Nico challenged, laughing humorlessly. Jason put a hand on his arm. For some reason Nico didn’t slap it away.

“Nico, Percy is right. You shouldn’t go alone,” he said. “I think you should join the quest.”

Nico looked stunned as Jason glanced back at Chiron. The centaur frowned, apparently not that fond of the idea, but he nodded slowly.

“That would probably be best,” he said. “The sons of the big three would certainly be powerful enough to succeed, provided you can get along.”

“It’s a terrible idea,” Nico said, and Percy silently agreed with him. Both Percy and Jason were natural leaders and had butted heads on quests before, but adding a loner like Nico, who was unlikely to follow either of them, to the mix spelled disaster and chaos. On the other hand, Chiron was right. Between the three of them there wasn’t a monster they couldn’t defeat.

“It’s decided then. We need to contact Rachel Dare for a prophecy.”

“Why bother?” Nico said. “We already know what to do and where to go. Besides, it will just be needlessly frightening. Like that ‘final breath’ line last time.”

 _An oath to keep with a final breath_ , the prophecy had foretold. That line had been about Percy, unleashing the final attack to defeat Gaea while drowning in the earth, again. He honestly thought he would die. He was still pretty sure he had seen Charon’s waiting room for a split second before waking up with Annabeth’s mouth on his, blowing air into his lungs as Jason pumped his chest. 

They later told him he had been gone for several minutes. Hazel and Nico, who had shadow traveled from New York to Greece when he felt Percy die, had managed to get him out of the earth in time. If it hadn’t been for Nico’s assurance that his soul hadn’t completely slipped away yet Percy really would have taken his final breath that day. He had wondered if there would be some punishment for thwarting the prophecy, but so far nothing out of the ordinary had happened.

“It would feel weird going on a quest without a prophecy,” Percy said. “Besides, you could use the day to heal. We’ll leave tomorrow morning.”

***

Despite being the one to suggest it, Jason really wasn’t sure this was a good idea. Nico obviously didn’t look happy when they gathered the following morning to start the quest, but that may have been mostly because of the suspicious looks some of the other campers gave him. It irritated Jason just as much, if not more. Nico had saved all of their lives more than once. What more did it take for them to accept him?

Percy, on the other hand, was smiling brightly when he appeared. “We couldn’t reach Rachel, so we’re going in blind anyway.”

“Good,” Nico said. “One thing less to worry about.”

Percy laughed. “Right then, to the stables.” 

“Stables?” Nico asked uncomfortably. “Shadow travel would be so much faster.”

“You need all your strength to recover,” Jason said. “We’ll ride the pegasi for the beginning of the journey at least.”

“Animals don’t like me, unless they’re dead or associated with my father somehow,” Nico complained. “How about I just meet you there? Shadow travel by myself isn’t that tiring.”

“No way,” Percy said. “You’re part of the quest, meaning we travel together.”

Nico muttered something under his breath, but he did follow them to the stables. Jason contemplated summoning Tempest, but he could be a bit unreliable. Percy was having a heated discussion with the pegasi about Nico, who looked just about ready to stab someone.

“He’s not going to hurt you,” Percy insisted. “He can ride with me if it helps.”

“Absolutely not,” Nico said venomously, and Jason could sympathize.

“How about you ride with me instead?” he suggested. “If they throw you off I’ll catch you.”

“Still no,” Nico said. “I told you this wouldn’t work.”

“It would work you cooperated. They say they’re willing to carry you as long as you sit with one us,” Percy said sternly. Nico looked like he was still going to refuse.

“Come on, Nico. Please,” Jason said, and Nico sighed.

“Fine. Just this once,” he gave in. “But if they change their minds you better catch me.”

“Promise,” Jason said, mounting the white pegasus. Nico jumped up behind him, putting his arms around Jason’s waist not to fall off.

“One word and I’ll kill you,” he muttered, and looking over his shoulder Jason could see he was slightly flustered.

“Wouldn’t dream of it,” Jason smiled. “Hold on tight.”

Percy was giving them a strange look, like he was hurt that Nico had opted to fly with Jason instead of him. Maybe even a little jealous. Jason raised an eyebrow at him. He really had no right to be either.

“Right!” Percy said. “We’re off!”

***

Flying with Jason was only marginally better than flying with Percy would have been. Nico hated having to depend on other people like this. Besides, the whole thing was stupid. Even if he would have waited another day to heal he would still have reached Canada faster through shadow travel than flying on winged horses. Horses that hated him.

His shoulder was starting to ache again, but he didn’t want to say anything. He carefully let go of Jason with his left arm to let his shoulder rest. Holding on with only his right hand put him slightly off balance, but the flying had been steady for the last hour or so. Besides, Jason had promised to catch him if they fell, and strange as it felt, Nico trusted him.

“You okay?” Jason asked, because of course he noticed. Maybe Nico should have flown with Percy after all. Percy wouldn’t have noticed.

“I’m fine," Nico said, but of clearly Jason didn’t believe him, because he shouted to Percy to ask for a break to “rest the horses”. Nico was honestly thankful when Percy agreed, but he still glared daggers into Jason’s back. There was no need to baby him just because he was injured.

Nico resisted a strange impulse to kiss the ground as he finally got of the horse. He really hated flying. Looking around, he saw that they had landed pretty much in the middle of nowhere, which of course meant there was a McDonald’s nearby.

Percy grinned at him. “You want a Happy Meal?”

“Do you want me to raise someone?” Nico asked, watching Percy’s smile falter with a certain satisfaction. Then, because he was actually hungry, he said: “Sure. Let’s eat.”

They left the horses eating grass in a nearby field, and walked into the diner to order food. Nico denied the toy that usually came with the meal, partly because Jason and Percy were there, but mostly because he already owned it. 

Jason looked disapprovingly at Nico’s meal. “That is definitely not enough for someone who’s recovering from an injury.”

Nico rolled his eyes. “I’m fine. Besides, I wouldn't be able to too keep that much down.”He nodded towards the large meals the other two were eating. Percy frowned.

“You won’t grow any taller if you don’t eat more," he said, sounding like he was repeating something his mother had told him. Nico raised an eyebrow at him.

“I spend most of my time underground. Being taller would be a nuisance anyway," Nico said, nibbling at his fries. To be honest he wasn’t even sure if he’d be able to finish this meal, small as it was. After Tartarus, and after starving in that jar, Nico hadn’t been able to eat much. Even now, a year later, he barely had an appetite.

In the end he forced himself to finish his Happy Meal only because Jason and Percy were both watching him with worry in their eyes. He felt a bit sick when they walked back to the horses, and he hoped he wouldn’t throw up once they were in the air.

“I think it would be fairer to the horses if I took Nico for the rest of the day," Percy said, having no compassion for Nico’s battle to keep his food down. Jason, the unhelpful bastard, was just looking at Nico, waiting for him to answer.

“Fine," Nico said, mostly because he didn’t dare open his mouth long enough for an argument. Percy seemed happy about it, for some reason. Nico doubted he would look so smug if Nico started puking on him.

Because he was concentrating so hard on keeping his food down, the fact that he actually had his arms around Percy Jackson’s waist didn’t register until about an hour into the flight. His first instinct was to let go immediately, but thankfully he caught himself. Falling off would have been mortifyingly embarrassing, especially since Jason had been flying slightly behind them all the time, probably anticipating the possibility. Nico could hear Percy talking to the horse about something, but he didn’t care enough to actually listen. He closed his eyes and tried to imagine that he was somewhere else. Preferably on the ground. Or under it.

When they finally stopped for the night Nico’s legs were shaking and his shoulder was aching up a storm. Just moving the arm hurt, but he tried his best to hide it from the others. Judging by the fact that Jason handed him ambrosia almost immediately he wasn’t doing a very good job.

“Thanks," he muttered, swallowing his pride as he took it. His shoulder hurt too much for him to care.

“You should have said something if you were in pain," Percy scolded him. “We could have stopped earlier.”

“It’s not that bad," Nico said, truthful only in the sense that the wound wasn’t bleeding. The ambrosia tasted like the cake his mother used to make for Christmas. He had almost forgotten the taste of it. Smiling nostalgically, he tried to remember what it was called.

A moment later he realized both Jason and Percy were staring at him. “What?” he asked, irritated.

“Now I recognize him. For a moment I almost thought it was someone else," Percy said. Nico didn’t understand what he was getting at.

“What Percy is trying to say is that you should smile more," Jason translated, and Nico tried to cover the fact that he was blushing by taking another bite of ambrosia. It still tasted of bittersweet memories.

They had managed to find a pretty decent cave to spend the night in. It was pretty cold, though not as cold as it would be tomorrow, further north. Nico thought again how all this could have been avoided if they had just shadow traveled. 

After a few tries Percy managed to light a campfire, and Nico moved closer to it, warming his hands. 

“You cold?” Percy asked, sounding concerned, and Nico wondered when Percy had started watching his every move. Nico already had Jason for that.

“It’s not exactly summer anymore.” Nico shrugged, forgetting about his injured shoulder again. He hoped his wince wasn’t too obvious.

“Here," Jason said, pulling a blanket from their packs and putting it around Nico’s shoulders. Nico appreciated the gesture, but how hard would it have been for Jason to just _hand_ him the blanket instead of treating him like a child?

“Stop babying me," he demanded, though he didn’t give the blanket back. “I can take care of myself.”

“The point of going on a quest with two others is that you don’t have to," Jason said, sitting down beside him. “Not all the time, anyway.”

Nico scoffed, but didn’t comment. He’d realized a long time ago that Jason was fond of helping people, even if they didn’t want help. Nico actually rather liked it, even if it could get annoying at times.

Percy was watching them with a strange expression Nico couldn’t quite place. Maybe he also thought Jason was annoying. Or maybe he thought _Nico_ was annoying. Or maybe it was something else entirely.

“We should be there tomorrow," Percy said. “Will you be able to fight properly with that shoulder of yours?”

“No, I’m just going to walk into the battle and be totally helpless.” Nico rolled his eyes. “Of course I’ll be able to, but I think we should try for stealth if possible. There are quite a lot of monsters there, and all we really need to do is free the god. Thanatos should be able to handle the rest once that’s done. The monsters will probably disband when their leader is gone.”

“Do you know where they keep him?” Percy asked. Nico shrugged, with his right shoulder only.

“Nearby, most likely. I’m guessing in a jar," he said. “That seems to be the popular choice, doesn’t it?”

Nobody said anything for a while. Nico was glad of it, but the silence started to get heavy after a while. Especially since both his companions were watching him again, looking worried.

"I can take the first watch," he sighed. “You two should go to sleep.”

“Oh no, you won’t," Percy said strictly. “You need sleep more than we do.”

“Percy’s right, Nico," Jason agreed. “Sleeping will help heal your shoulder, and you’ll need all your strength in case we have to get away quickly tomorrow.”

Nico looked first at Percy, then at Jason and then back at Percy again. Their faces were mirror images of determination, and Nico knew when he was defeated.

“Fine," he said. “But for the record, neither of you are my mother. You need to stop acting like it.”

With that Nico turned his back on them, then lay down and wrapped the blanket tightly around himself. Truth to be told, he was pretty tired after spending the day in fear of falling of the flying horses. Soon after closing his eyes he drifted off to sleep.

***

Percy could faintly hear Nico’s breath even out as the boy fell asleep. He wondered if he had as many nightmares as Percy did. Probably, after going through Tartarus alone. Percy still couldn’t fathom how he had managed that. Without Annabeth Percy wouldn’t even have made it past the first river.

Looking up, Percy could see that Jason was watching Nico’s back as well, with a look of concern on his face. Jason obviously really cared about Nico, and Nico seemed fairly accepting of his help. Anytime Percy showed concern Nico seemed to want to bite his head off. It really wasn’t fair.

“What is it?” Jason asked quietly when he noticed Percy looking at him.

“Nothing. You can go to sleep, I’ll wake you in a few hours.” Percy said. Jason nodded and went to fetch a blanket for himself. He casually threw Percy one too, before laying down to sleep. Percy could have laughed. Nico was certainly getting special treatment, even though it was obvious he didn’t particularly want it. Then again, it wasn’t like Percy treated Jason and Nico the same either.

A few hours into Percy’s watch Nico suddenly sat up quickly, a hand on his sword, ready to draw it. He was breathing heavily.

“Nico?” Percy asked, and Nico jumped and swung around to look at him. For a second Percy thought he was going to attack, but then his shoulders sagged and he slowly sat down.

“Sorry," Nico muttered, embarrassed. “I thought I heard something.”

“Nightmare?” Percy asked, understanding. Nico looked away, but he nodded.

“Don’t sweat it, man," Percy said. “I get them all the time. Annabeth too.”

“About that...” Nico said, looking down at his hands. “How come she isn’t here? I figured she’d want to join you.”

 _Right, the crush_. Percy kept forgetting about that. “Actually, she broke up with me a few days ago. I guess you didn’t know.”

Nico stated at him with an expression of utter shock on his face. “What?” he asked, sounding almost threatening. Percy frowned.

“She said she couldn’t see a future for us," he explained. “I kinda agree.”

“But you love her," Nico said, pleading. Percy didn’t understand. If anything, he’d figured Nico would be happy about this.

“Well, yes," he said uncertainly. “She does too. But it didn’t work out.”

"You went through _Tartarus_ together," Nico spat. “How the fuck doesn’t things work out after that?”

Percy blinked. He couldn’t remember ever hearing Nico use modern swear words before.

“I thought the same thing, but when all is nice and calm we’re just too different as people. We agreed to break up," he said. “Nico, why are you so angry about this?”

“It doesn’t matter," Nico said after a moment’s silence. “It’s none of my business. Goodnight.”

Percy stared at him as he turned around and lay down again, clearly not sleepy in the slightest. He didn’t understand Nico’s reaction at all. If Nico had a crush on Annabeth, and it sure had seemed like it before, then how come he was so mad? Especially since she had been the one to break them up? It made no sense.

Some time later, Jason got up, telling Percy he was an idiot and should go to sleep, which also made very little sense. Completely confused, Percy lay down and closed his eyes.

***

Both Percy and Nico had dark circles under their eyes the following morning. For Nico, this was nothing new, his circles were so permanent at this point that some people probably thought it was make up. Jason doubted he had been able to sleep at all after his talk with Percy last night. He had overheard most of it, and keeping himself from punching Percy in the face afterwards had been hard, but technically he hadn’t done anything to deserve it. Except being completely blind to something that was right in front of him.

Nico joined Jason on his pegasus without a word being said about it. Percy just seemed hurt and confused about the whole thing. Jason felt a bit sorry for him, mostly because it was clear Percy actually cared about Nico and had reached out to him repeatedly the day before. At the same time Jason also understood Nico’s anger. He had resigned himself to the belief that Percy and Annabeth’s love was eternal and unbreakable, and had even started to move on, but now it turned out they had broken up for a reason that, while completely understandable to Jason,, probably sounded pretty pathetic to Nico.

Jason was thinking hard during the flight, trying to come up with a way to mend the rift before they reached their destination. When they stopped for lunch he still hadn’t managed to come up with anything.

They had landed by a small independent diner this time, and the silence that hung above their table was unnerving. Jason suspected the flower decoration by the nearby window would have withered and died if it hadn’t been made of plastic.

“We’re not going into battle like this," Jason finally said, breaking the silence. “It could get all of us killed.”

“What are you talking about? We’re almost there," Percy said.

"We’re already fighting amongst ourselves," Jason said sternly. “Which is a distraction we can’t afford right now. We need to be able to trust each other to have our backs.”

“We’re not _fighting_ ," Nico said. “And it’s not like we’d let each other die, for whatever reason.”

“He’s right," Percy said, then turned to Nico. “I’m not really sure why you hate me, but I know I can trust you to have my back. That’s not an issue.”

Nico frowned at him, and Jason noticed he was biting his lip. “I don’t hate you," Nico finally sighed. “Satisfied, Jason?”

Jason nodded. “It’s as good as it’s going to get right now, I guess," he said. “But when we get back you’re joining us for brownie night.”

“What?” Nico asked, but Percy grinned widely, apparently happy with the news that Nico didn’t hate him.

“We’re going to bake brownies, watch bad romantic comedies and talk about our feelings. Possibly braid each other’s hair,” he said. ”You in?”

“I...what?” Nico said, confused. Percy laughed at his bewildered expression.

“He’s in,” Jason smiled. “It’ll be fun. We just need to go rescue a god first.”

They had barely flown for half an hour when the attack came. Either they had run into a scout patrol by accident, or they had been expected. Whatever the case, they suddenly found themselves surrounded by Stymphalian birds.

“We need to land," Percy shouted. Jason almost didn’t hear him over the screeching of the birds. He drew his sword.

“I’ll hold them off. Try to reach the ground in one piece," Jason told Nico, then took to the air. 

Fighting a bunch of birds while flying wasn’t easy, but he managed. As soon as Nico and Percy were out of harm's way, Jason summoned lighting to thin the hoards of enemies. Soon the air was free enough of birds that Jason could begin looking for his friends. After a while he found them by a river, where Percy was using the water to fight a number of Cyclopes. Nico wasn’t far away, fighting the same creatures with the help of a few skeletons. For some reason he was dripping wet.

The fight was over in a few minutes.

“Welcoming party?” Percy asked.

“Probably. They knew I’d tell you guys, after all," Nico said, shivering in his wet clothes. “Can we go somewhere warm now?”

“Sure," Jason said. “How did that happen, anyway?”

“Percy’s got a bad aim," Nico muttered.

“Hey, I had just landed and they attacked me. I didn’t realize you were there," Percy tried defending himself, but he sounded worried. It was a cold day and generally not a good idea to walk around in wet clothes. Percy tried using his powers to dry them, but it didn’t work. Maybe his powers had waned during the quiet year, or maybe the fabric was too thoroughly soaked for him to differentiate between it and the water.

As they flew to nearest city, Jason noticed Nico was holding him tightly, leaning against him for warmth. They used what little money they had to check in at the first motel they could find, figuring the god could wait until tomorrow for saving. They could only afford one room, with a king sized bed, and the man in the reception leered at them when he gave them their keys. Jason was almost glad Nico was too cold to notice.

Jason sent Nico to the bathroom for a warm shower as soon as they walked through the door, while Percy ran to the nearest store to buy some dry clothes. He came back a few minutes later with an ugly striped red and green pajamas, saying it was the only thing he found at the convenience store. Worryingly enough Nico didn’t complain, though he did kinda look like a dead Christmas elf wearing the thing. He went straight for the bed and under the covers.

Percy brought him hot chocolate from a vending machine. Nico was still shivering, but his hands were pretty steady when he took the cup and drank.

“Thanks," he said. “It helps.”

“I’m so sorry," Percy said. “I should have been more careful.”

“It’s fine," Nico said, taking another sip of hot chocolate. “I’m starting to feel my toes again. Do we have any more ambrosia?”

Jason dug some up from their pack and sat down on the bed as he handed it to Nico, who ate it without a word. 

“Much better," he said afterwards, though the fact that he was still shivering made that hard to believe. “I think I’ll go to sleep now.”

He curled up under the covers and closed his eyes. Jason and Percy sat on opposite sides of the large bed, looking down at him. Jason could see his own worry mirrored on Percy’s face.

“He’ll be okay, right?” Percy asked after Nico had fallen asleep.

"I think so. We just have to make sure he’s warm," Jason said, watching as Nico shivered slightly in his sleep. 

“Do you think we should join him?” Percy asked hesitatingly. Jason nodded slowly.

“He will kill us in the morning," he said. “But yes, I think we should.”

It was pretty awkward, curling up to the sleeping boy while Percy did the same on the other side. Nico was facing in Jason’s direction, so Jason carefully pulled him closer, placing his head beneath Jason’s chin. Percy was spooning Nico on the other side, with one hand around his waist. It didn’t even occur to Jason until later that the proper thing to do would probably have been facing away, with their backs against him, but by that time Nico had finally stopped shivering and was sleeping peacefully.

“This is a bit strange," Percy said quietly from the other side of Nico’s hair. His face was a lot closer than Jason had realized.

“I think he’s warm enough now if you want to leave," Jason answered, making it clear that he had no intention of doing so.

“I’m not going to," Percy said, sounding sleepy. “It’s actually kind of nice.”

Jason lay awake for a while, wondering what would happen when Nico woke up and found Percy essentially hugging him from behind. Maybe he would punch him, or maybe he’d finally confess his feelings. Judging by the way he was burying his face in Nico’s hair Percy might be open to them. Maybe they’d actually get together. Maybe Jason had no right to be angry at the thought.

It bothered him that however Nico reacted to Percy’s presence, his reaction to Jason wasn’t even going to register on the same scale. If anything, Jason was probably going to be forgotten in favor of Percy, and as much as he didn’t want to admit it, Jason was jealous.

It had been creeping up on him gradually, beginning with a feeling that Percy really didn’t deserve Nico’s clearly lingering affections. Jason had taken time to get to know Nico quite well during the last year. As far as he could see Percy hadn’t even made the effort, yet he was always the center of Nico’s attention when he was around. Jason hadn’t realized how jealous he really was before tonight.

 _It's a stupid feeling_ , he told himself. If Percy fell for Nico, which didn’t seem so completely impossible anymore, then Nico would be happy. 

That should be enough.


	2. Chapter 2

Nico woke up feeling warm and safe, which hadn’t happened since Bianca died. For a moment he lay still, savoring the feeling, then he realized where it was coming from. Nico snapped his eyes open, and was greeted by the sight of Jason Grace’s collar bone. He tried backing away, panicked, but there was something warm at his back, preventing the movement. Turning his head as best he could, he saw Percy Jackson’s face, sleeping with his mouth slightly open.

Somewhere between Jason’s collarbone and Percy’s open mouth and the realization that he was _sandwiched_ between the two Nico’s brain short circuited.

For a while he just lay there, frozen and unable to react. When his brain finally started working again, it came to the conclusion that the other two were still asleep, so he should enjoy the sensation while it lasted. It wasn’t like he’d ever get a chance to experience this again with either of them, let alone both at the same time. Nico had never allowed himself to even imagine something like this. That way lay madness and bitterness.

Which was why he couldn’t let himself enjoy it right now either. The other two were only doing this to keep him warm, after all. Nico understood that. Allowing himself to hope would just be another road back to Tartarus. It hurt less to be angry.

He punched Jason in the stomach and elbowed Percy, not nearly as hard as he could have, to wake them up and make them let go of him.

“ _Ow_ ,” Percy said, startled awake. “What the hell, Nico?”

“That’s my line,” Nico said. “Let go of me.”

“Right, sorry,” Percy muttered, removing his grip around Nico’s waist. Jason had already sat up, and was watching them, looking strangely sad. It wasn’t a look Nico wanted to see. Sad people were hard to stay angry at. Sad Jason was impossible.

“What’s wrong?” Nico asked Jason as he sat up, elbowing Percy once more for good measure. Jason seemed surprised.

“I thought...You’re not going to kill us?” Jason said, and Nico could have laughed, if he hadn’t resolved to be angry. Instead he scowled. 

“I’m not stupid. I understand the concept of shared body heat,” he said reluctantly. “I suppose I should thank you.”

“What was the elbow for, then?” Percy asked. “It’s not a very nice way to wake up.”

“Neither is waking up to you drooling in my hair,” Nico said, lying through his teeth, but of course Percy didn’t realize that.

“Fair enough,” he laughed. "How's your shoulder?"

Nico tried moving it, and found it barely hurt anymore. "Pretty much healed, I think."

“Ready to go save a god?”

“Let me just change my clothes,” Nico said, grimacing at his pajama.

“Why? It suits you,” Percy laughed, and Nico glanced over at Jason for help. 

“It really doesn’t,” Jason said, smiling warmly and shaking his head. He didn’t seem sad anymore. 

***

Percy would be glad when this trip was over. Things were getting more and more confusing by the minute, and he felt like he needed some time to think everything through. “Everything” referring to the dark haired Ghost King riding behind Jason again.

Percy glanced over at them. Jason was just turning to tell Nico something Percy couldn’t hear, and Nico grinned as a response. Percy thought he was holding Jason tighter than he had the days before. Percy frowned. For some reason it made him irritated.

Jason understood Nico in a way Percy didn’t, despite the fact that Percy had known the kid since he was a irritating ten year old Mythomagic geek. Nico seemed so comfortable with Jason, while he clearly hated being around Percy.

No, scratch that. Nico didn’t hate him. He had said so himself yesterday, and Percy had been incredibly relieved to hear it. Hitting him with ice cold water and almost causing him to get hypothermia might have changed that, but it didn’t seem like it, considering Percy had quite possibly drooled in his hair and was still alive afterwards.

Last night had been a strange experience all by itself. Curling up in bed with two other guys wasn’t something he’d ever thought he’d be doing, but Nico had been cold and shivering and it had been Percy’s fault and if Jason was going to do it then Percy would as well. He’d thought it would be awkward, but cuddling up against Nico’s back had felt strangely natural. In his sleeping state Nico had looked perfectly at ease, and Percy had barely recognized him. He looked so much better without that permanent scowl on his face. Cute, even.

Besides, Percy honestly didn’t understand what Blackjack kept complaining about. Nico didn’t smell like death. He smelled like...like something Percy couldn’t quite place, but it smelled good. The whole situation, once Nico stopped shivering, had been surprisingly nice. Percy wouldn’t mind repeating it, which of course was a pretty strange thought. Then again, his relationship with Nico had always been pretty strange.

At Nico’s suggestion, they landed some ways away from Menelaus camp and walked the rest of the way, because it was less likely they’d be spotted on the ground. Percy sent Blackjack and Silverwing back to Camp Half-Blood, because Nico insisted that he could shadow travel them all back once the god was free. They figured they might need to get away pretty quickly anyway. The pegasi seemed relieved that they wouldn’t have to carry the son of Hades anymore.

“You two wait here,” Nico said as they got closer. “I’ll sneak in and try to find out where the god is hidden.”

Percy and Jason exchanged a look. “They caught you once before,” Percy said hesitatingly. 

“This time I know what I’m dealing with,” Nico insisted. Jason shook his head.

“Nico, you shouldn’t go alone,” he said, and Percy agreed.

“We can’t fight the whole army,” Nico said, surprisingly sensible. “If we go in there and look around aimlessly they’re going to notice. I won’t be long.”

“Nico...” Percy tried, but the son of Hades had already melted into the shadows. Percy swore under his breath. "Why doesn't he ever listen?"

“Should we go after him?” Jason asked, sounding worried.

“No,” Percy said after a while. “We'd just get him caught. If he runs into trouble he’ll let us know. Nico’s been spying on bad guys for years now, and he’s right. We can’t fight the whole army.”

“Funny thing is that we probably could, between the three of us,” Jason mused, and Percy laughed.

“That's true,” he agreed. “But only as a last resort.”

They waited in silence for a while. Percy was looking for a way to bring up last night, but wasn't sure how. Everything sounded wrong, somehow. Like he was asking if Nico and Jason were together, which was ridiculous. Or like he was asking if Percy and Nico could be a couple, which was also ridiculous. Right? 

“I think I found it,” Nico suddenly said from nowhere, and Percy just barely held back a yelp. Nico was standing behind them, grinning at their surprise.

“There’s a warehouse not far from here. It’s pretty heavily guarded,” Nico said. “And we’re in luck. The rest of the army is busy preparing to march, so they aren’t as alert as they’d usually be.”

“Some luck would be nice.” Percy said. “Alright, what’s the plan?”

Nico blinked. “I thought you were supposed to be the leader.”

“Right. Well, you’re the one who knows where we’re going. So what’s the plan?”

“I guess we try to enter the warehouse, while raising as little alarm as possible,” Nico suggested, glancing at Jason for help. Percy figured he wasn’t used to making decisions for anybody but himself.

“Sounds good,” Jason smiled. “Let’s go.”

Nico led them forward, taking strange twist and turns that Percy didn’t see the point of at first, until he realized Nico was leading them through the blind spots of the guards. They were almost caught by a cyclops once, but before he could raise the alarm Nico had moved into his shadow and slit his throat. Percy was honestly impressed. And a little frightened.

The warehouse was heavily guarded at all entrances, and Percy couldn’t see a quiet way through. He asked if Nico could shadow travel inside, but the boy shook his head.

“Technically, I could,” Nico said. “But I don’t know what’s in there. I might get caught immediately.”

“Okay,” Percy said, thinking hard. “I could probably make the pipes inside the warehouse explode, but that would cause too much commotion. Same if Jason summons a whirlwind or you open the ground.” A smile spread on his face as he considered it. “You know what, let’s do that!”

“Cause commotion?” Nico asked confusedly, but Jason nodded.

“It would cause panic. Nobody would know what’s happening, and we’d be able to sneak in,” he said. “That’s brilliant.”

“Right, of course you two would want to show off,” Nico muttered. “On three then.”

They summoned their powers, and once Nico counted “Three” all hell broke loose. Percy exploded the pipes outwards, causing the guards at the nearest entrance to go flying, while Jason’s whirlwinds had the same effect on the guards a bit further away. Nico apparently thought ahead, and opened a large rift in the earth between the warehouse and the rest of the army. Skeletons were appearing all around the rift. Percy grinned. So much for Nico not liking to show off.

“Let’s go,” Percy said, drawing Riptide as he ran towards the warehouse. Jason and Nico were right behind him. A couple of guards had the presence of mind to try and stop them, but most were just running around screaming. They entered the warehouse without problem, which of course meant there was trouble coming.

A heavily armored Greek officer that could only be Menelaus was standing in the warehouse, surrounded by some of the toughest looking cyclopes Percy had ever seen, with the possible exception of his brother. Behind them stood a large jar, eerily resembling the one Nico had been imprisoned in a little over a year ago, except it was covered in a complicated pattern of bindings.

“We were starting to think you weren’t going to show,” Menelaus said, addressing Nico. “I thought maybe all your talk about not belonging at either camp was true after all.”

“It was,” Nico said. “Doesn’t mean I want them destroyed.”

“Sadly, I do,” Menelaus said, drawing his sword. “And as you know I can’t be killed.”

“You’re already dead,” Percy said. “Let’s do this.”

He was the first to attack, using the water from the pipes to take a swing at Menelaus, who stood firm while the cyclopes lost their balance around him. Jason and Nico was on them before they could stand back up, leaving Percy to take care of the boss. Percy parried Menelaus counterattack, causing him to fly backwards on the floor.

“I have stolen the power of a god,” Menelaus said. “You cannot defeat me.”

“If I had a drachma for every time I heard that,” Percy said, getting back on his feet just as Menelaus attacked again. Percy just barely remained standing this time, probably because he was ankle deep in pipe water. Menelaus continued his offence, and Percy barely had time to parry. He wouldn’t last long at this rate.

Then a couple of skeletons attacked Menelaus from behind, and Percy was finally able to fight back. The skeletons didn’t last long, but long enough for Jason to finish with the cyclopes and join the fight. 

“Where’s Nico?” Percy asked him, dodging a swing from Menelaus and landing a hit of his own. The annoying thing was that he didn’t seem particularly bothered by it.

“He went for the jar,” Jason said, parrying another attack, and Menelaus eyes widened. Apparently he hadn’t realized they would try to free the god, which was pretty stupid of him. Or maybe he hadn't thought they knew where to find him. 

“ _No!_ ” he screamed, turning around and probably planning on going after Nico, but Percy immediately went for his legs, causing the old Grecian to trip. With Jason’s help he managed to keep him still.

“No!” he kept screaming as Nico undid some sort of binding around the large jar, probably the spell that gave Menelaus his power, considering he didn't seem nearly as strong anymore. “ _No!_ He doesn’t deserve to be free! He and his mother should be _punished forever_ for what they have done!”

Percy wondered just what this god, and his mother, had done to Menelaus, but he honestly didn’t remember the stories of the Trojan war all that well. Nico had finally managed to open the lid to the jar.

“Nico di Angelo. We meet again,” a voice spoke from inside the jar. All color drained from Nico’s face, and for a moment Percy thought he was going to slam the lid back on. Then he threw the it at the ground, so hard it shattered.

“If I could, I’d let you rot in there,” Nico said venomously, then turned his back on the jar and started walking to where Percy and Jason were standing.

“Such resentment.” the god said, slowly raising from within the jar. He was pretty good looking and had wings, for some reason. Percy didn’t recognize him, but if Nico disliked him Percy was inclined to do the same.

Menelaus was still screaming, but the god just took one look at him, then summoned a bow and shot an arrow into his chest. "Love kills, sometimes, when the ones we care about don't love us back." he said as Menelaus collapsed on the floor, yelling something that sounded like "Helen".

“Things seem to have changed a bit for you since we last talked, Nico di Angelo,” the god continued, turning towards Nico again. “It’s quite exciting.”

“Just shut up and get out of here!” Jason said angrily, stepping in front of Nico like he expected the god to attack them as well. Percy was pretty sure he was missing something major here. He followed Jason's example anyway, creating a protective wall between the god and Nico.

The god chuckled. “Jason Grace. Things are different for you too, aren't they? And Percy Jackson, well, my mother promised you an interesting future. It'll be amusing to watch how it unfolds.”

“Let’s get out of here,” Nico said, ignoring the taunting god. He grabbed Jason’s arm and reached out towards Percy.

“Always running, Nico di Angelo,” the god said regretfully. “Even from yourself.”

Percy took a hold of Nico’s hand and the shadows swallowed them. When Percy opened his eyes again he was standing by the foot of the giant statue of Athena that Nico, Reyna and coach Hedge had brought to Camp Half-Blood a year ago. 

Nico let go of his hand and sunk down to the ground, breathing heavily. Jason sat down beside him without a word, and after a moment’s hesitation Percy did the same. He had the strangest feeling that if he left now Nico would return to the underworld the moment he had power enough to do it, and the gods only knew when Percy would see him again after that.

“Who was that asshole?” Percy asked after a while.

“Cupid,” Jason said, making a face. “Eros to you, I suppose. We met him in Croatia.”

“Oh,” Percy said, wanting to ask for details but deciding against it. “Love gods, man. Only happy if you’re miserable. Because it’s more _interesting_ , or whatever.”

Nico didn’t answer, but he seemed to have calmed down a bit. He still looked rather depressed, though.

“Well, I still think we should go through with our original plan,” Percy said. “Brownie night. I could call and ask my mother if we could go there.”

Jason looked up at him, surprised but smiling slightly. He probably saw right through Percy’s cunning plan to give Nico a reason to hang around and, most importantly, not be alone.

“Sounds like a plan,” Jason said, getting up. “In the meantime, Nico and I will go tell Chiron that out quest succeeded.” 

“What is this obsession with brownies you two suddenly have?” Nico asked as Jason dragged him away, but he didn’t decline to join them. Percy chuckled as he went into the Poseidon cabin to call him mum.

“Percy!” his mother exclaimed happily. “I’m so glad to hear from you, _finally_. How are you?”

“I’m fine,” Percy said, ignoring her hint about how seldom he called. He could have called twice a day and it still wouldn’t have been often enough for her. “Listen, mum. Me and a couple of friends were wondering if we could come hang out and bake brownies and stuff. It’s a bit crowded here at camp, and a friend could use some cheering up.”

“Of course,” his mother said. “Actually, perfect timing. Paul and I had been planning to go out for the night and our babysitter just canceled. If you guys don’t mind taking care of your little sister, you’re welcome.”

“Umm, sure,” Percy said, wondering how the others would like the addition of babysitting to their program. “Yeah, we can do that. See you in a bit.”

He found Nico and Jason outside the Big House, apparently in the middle of a discussion that they cut short when Percy arrived. Not being included was a bit hurtful, but Percy supposed it was better not to ask.

“Mum says it’s okay, if we agree to watch my sister at the same time.” 

“You have a sister?” Nico asked, sounding surprised. Percy guessed nobody told him.

“Yes, her name is Lucy. She just had her first birthday,” Percy said. “She was born the same week we defeated Gaea. I hadn’t even known mum was pregnant, so it was a bit of a shock.”

“I can imagine,” Nico said drily, while Jason laughed.

“Think you can get us there, or should we call for a cab or something?” Percy asked.

“I can do it."

Nico took them straight to the front door. He staggered a bit, but Percy and Jason both reached out to catch him at the same time, so he didn’t fall.

“I’m fine,” he muttered, shaking them off. “I just need to sit down for a bit.”

They took the elevator up to his mother’s apartment, and rang the doorbell. Percy was nearly knocked off his feet when his mother opened the door and threw herself into his arms.

“Perseus Jackson, you don’t visit nearly often enough,” she scolded him. She was wearing makeup and a pretty dress, ready to head out for the evening.

“Well, I’m here now,” Percy said, embarrassed. “Mom, this is Jason and Nico.”

“I think I remember you,” she smiled at Nico. “Please, come in.”

Paul Blofis appeared, carrying a sleeping Lucy in one arm and shaking their hands with the other. 

“I hope you can stay for a few days, Percy,” he said. “We don’t see enough of you.”

“We’ll see,” Percy answered, and Paul went to put Lucy to sleep. 

“I left some instructions on the fridge. Lucy's been energetic all day, so she'll probably sleep through most of the evening. Call us if anything happens,” his mother said. “And try not to burn down the house if you were serious about the brownies. There’s some blue food coloring in the cupboard.”

“Don’t worry, it’ll be fine,” Percy said. “Have fun.”

His mom smiled at him, then she and Paul went out the door, talking excitedly to each other. Clearly it had been a while since they’d had an evening to themselves. Walking back into the house, he found that Nico had sunk down on the couch while Jason was looking at the photos on the bookshelf.

“Your mother seems nice,” he said, looking up as Percy approached. He sounded a bit wistful, and Percy remembered that of the three of them, Percy was the only one who still had a mother.

“She is,” he agreed. “Nico, you asleep?”

“No,” Nico mumbled, not sounding completely convincing. He opened his eyes as Percy sat down next to him, but he still seemed sleepy. “Sorry. I’m just a bit tired.”

“Take a nap,” Percy suggested. “Jason and I will go destroy my mother’s kitchen. Come rescue us when you smell something burning.”

Nico chuckled and lay down on the couch, closing his eyes again. Percy smiled. Nico was pretty cute when he was asleep.

Percy blinked. _Cute._ Right, there was that trail of thought again. Better leave it for later. Percy gestured for Jason to follow him to the kitchen.

“So do you actually know how to do this?” Jason asked suspiciously. Percy shrugged.

“How hard can it be?” Percy said, digging up his mother's old recipe book.

“Those are going to be your last words someday.” 

“Or yours." Percy grinned. “Brownies aren’t going to kill me.” 

“Except for the part where we’re both dyslectic,” Jason pointed out. Percy hadn’t thought about that.

“It’ll be fine,” he said, opening the index of the book. “Now come help me find the brownies in this list.” 

 

“What in Hades’ name is going on?” Nico asked them a while later, when Percy and Jason were having a calm, sensible discussion about the baking instructions. If Nico hadn’t interrupted Percy might have thrown the flour into Jason’s thick head.

“What does this say?” Jason asked him, pointing to the line they had been arguing about. Nico frowned.

“Spread batter into prepared pan,” he read, which made so much more sense than what Jason and Percy had been suggesting. They looked sheepishly at each other.

“Nico, aren’t you dyslectic as well?” Percy asked as he followed the new instructions. Nico shrugged.

“There was no such thing when I grew up. You were pretty much forced to learn. I don't think I've ever been as bad as you two anyway,” he said, frowning. “It says ‘preheated oven’. Doesn’t that mean you should put the oven on?”

“Damn,” Percy swore, hurrying to do so. Nico was eyeing the batter with disgust.

“Why does everything have to be blue with you?” he asked. “That doesn’t look very appealing.”

“Considering the amount of butter and sugar we put in, it probably tastes good,” Jason said. “But you’re right, I’d prefer it brown.”

“You two have no taste,” Percy said. “I guess we’ll just have to wait for the oven to heat up. Let’s pick out a movie.”

Percy’s mother had never owned all that many movies, but Paul Blofis had a pretty wide selection, most of which Percy had already seen at this point. Jason seemed interested, but Nico was just looking around with a blank look on his face.

“Have you ever actually seen a movie?” Percy asked, sitting down on the floor beside him.

“Of course I have,” Nico said irritatedly.

“What was the last one you saw?”

Nico was quiet for a moment. “Something about a puppet that came to life,” he muttered. “It was some time after we came to the States, I don’t remember.”

“Oh,” Percy said, digging through the piles of movies until he found what he was looking for. “This one?” He was holding a DVD of Disney’s _Pinocchio_ , and Nico’s eyes went wide.

“How did…?” he said, and Percy laughed.

“It’s pretty famous,” Jason explained, smiling. “I’ve never liked it, though. It’s kinda disturbing.”

“I don’t remember having a problem with it.” Nico said, studying the cover.

“Then again you were a pretty weird kid,” Percy joked. “I bet _Fantasia_ wouldn’t have scared you either.”

Nico frowned like he had no idea what Percy talked about, but Jason laughed. Percy clapped Nico’s arm as he stood up.

“Just pick something out,” he said. “I think the oven is ready.”

Percy managed to burn his fingers on the hot oven while putting the pan in. Swearing, he put his fingers under cold water for a while, making them better. Being the son of Poseidon had its perks.

“Find anything?” Percy asked when he returned to the living room. Nico and Jason were sitting unnecessarily close together, passing DVDs between them.

“Plenty,” Nico said, looking at the cover of one of the maybe two horror flicks Paul owned. “Though everything seems a bit silly.”

“I vote _the Little Mermaid_ ,” Jason said, holding the cover up. “Or something along that line. I don’t do horror movies.”

“What, you scared?” Percy teased, not because he was particularly fond of horror movies himself, but because couldn't resist. Jason frowned.

“Hardly,” he said, clearly accepting the challenge. Like he always did.

“‘Cause it sounded like you were,” Percy said.

“I can handle it as well as you can.”

“Guys, I’d rather not,” Nico interrupted, looking at the back covers of the horror movies. “I’m more or less an expert on corpses, and these don’t look even remotely real. Besides, that's not how reanimation works.”

So much for that argument, then. “ _Little Mermaid_ it is,” Percy said. “I’ve always kind of liked that movie anyway.”

“Yeah, you would,” Jason snorted. Percy didn’t see that as an insult.

He put the movie on while Nico and Jason settled on the couch. After getting them some drinks and checking on the brownies, that needed another couple of minutes, Percy sat down beside Nico. The boy seemed pretty engrossed in the movie already.

Around the time Ariel met up with seagull Percy went to take out the brownies and cut them into smaller pieces. They were still hot when he brought them the table.

“Taste one,” Percy said, munching on one of his own. “They’re actually not bad.”

Jason took one. “Mmm,” he said appreciatively. “Looks like we succeeded, after all. Who’d have thought?”

“Not me. And I’m still not convinced,” Nico said, tearing his eyes from the screen long enough to look the blue brownies suspiciously.

“Try one, Nico,” Percy urged. “You need more fat on your body anyway.”

“Really?” Nico said dryly. “Why?”

“Because we’re going to _eat_ you,” Percy said seriously. “And you won’t taste good if you’re all skin and bones. Now eat a brownie.”

Jason laughed, and even Nico grinned as he rolled his eyes and tried one of the brownies. Percy counted that as a victory.

“Okay, this is pretty good,” Nico admitted, returning his attention to the movie. Percy found he was watching Nico’s reactions to the movie more than the movie itself. Jason seemed to be doing the same thing on Nico’s other side, and they noticed at roughly the same time. Jason frowned suspiciously at him, like Percy had been plotting something, which was ridiculous. Percy frowned back and opened his mouth to speak.

A sudden yell from Lucy’s room interrupted him. Apparently his sister was awake.

“I’ll go check on her,” Percy said, pausing the movie as he went. Lucy didn’t seem happy to see him. She kept crying even as he lifted her up into his arms. She didn’t seem to be in need of a diaper change, thank the gods. Maybe she was hungry.

Percy carried his screaming sister to the kitchen, looking at the instructions his mother had left for feeding her. Thankfully, they were drawn rather than written, so Percy could follow them easily, but Lucy didn’t seem interested in the bottle.

“I can’t get her to stop crying,” Percy said helplessly to the others. “I don’t know what’s wrong.”

“I’ve never had anything to do with babies,” Jason said, sounding frightened. “Perhaps you should try singing to her.”

“I can’t sing. No one in this family can sing,” Percy said, starting to panic. “Can you sing?”

“No way,” Jason said, being completely unhelpful. “Maybe you should call your mother?”

“Oh, for Hades’ sake,” Nico said. “Give her here. I’ll try.”

“You sure?” Percy asked, but he handed his exceedingly loud sister to the son of Hades anyway. Nico rocked her very carefully, like he was afraid to break her. Then he begun to sing.

Percy suspected his heart had stopped. _Screw Ariel’s voice_ , Percy thought. _She had nothing on Nico_. He didn’t understand the words of the song, probably some Italian lullaby Nico’s mother had sung to him when he was a baby, but it was beautiful. Lucy seemed to agree, because she had stopped screaming after the first few notes. Now she was smiling and reaching up towards him. Nico smiled down at her as he continued to sing. Percy was completely mesmerized.

By the time he stopped, Lucy was asleep again, and Nico quietly carried her back to her bed.

“That was beautiful,” Percy exclaimed when Nico came back. Jason nodded.

“Really amazing,” he agreed. “I didn’t know you could sing.”

Nico blushed a deep red. “My mother was an opera singer. You should have heard Bianca. _She_ could sing.”

He got that sad look in his eyes again, thinking about his dead sister. Percy just wanted to walk over and give the boy a hug. He wondered if Nico would punch him if he tried. Probably.

“Could you sing another one?” Jason asked, sounding hopeful, but Nico made a face at him.

“Not likely,” he said heartlessly, sitting back at the couch again. Percy reassumed his position beside him.

“Come on, please?” he begged, but Nico ignored him, though his cheeks were glowing red.

“Put the movie back on,” he said, and Percy knew he was defeated. Sighing, he clicked play.

As Nico became engrossed in the movie again, Percy turned his gaze back towards him, wondering what would happen if he put an arm around him. There was that feeling again, stronger this time, the urge to reach out and touch. It was getting harder to ignore. Jason met his eyes from the other side of Nico. He was frowning again. Maybe he suspected. Percy made a quick decision.

“Jason, can I talk to you?” Percy asked, getting up. Jason looked surprised, but he nodded. Nico looked at them suspiciously as they left.

“We’ll be right back,” Percy assured him, leading Jason out on the kitchen balcony, figuring Nico couldn’t hear them there.

“What’s this about?” Jason asked, crossing his arms over his chest, probably trying to look intimidating. It wasn’t working well on Percy, though.

“This is going to sound weird, being a guy and all,” Percy said. “But if I asked Nico out, do you think he’d agree?”

Jason’s first reaction was to smash his fist into the wall. Percy blinked. At least it hadn’t been his face.

“Why ask me?” Jason said, unconvincingly trying to sound calm, like he hadn’t just beaten the wall.

“Because you know him best,” Percy said uncertainly. “Sorry, do you like him?”

“Do you?” Jason challenged.

“I think so,” Percy said, and he could see Jason gritting his teeth.

“If you’re going to go for it, you better be damn sure,” he said angrily. “I swear, if you hurt him...”

“You really like him, don’t you?” Percy interrupted, slightly stunned by the revelation. “Why haven’t you told him?”

“He doesn’t like me that way,” Jason said, sounding a bit sad.

“He likes you more than he likes me,” Percy said, and Jason laughed humorlessly.

“Does he?” Jason said. Percy frowned, wondering how it was possible that Jason hadn’t realized it. Or maybe Jason knew something Percy didn’t.

“Let’s ask him,” Percy decided, starting to go back in.

“Wait!” Jason exclaimed. “What are you going to do?”

***

Percy and Jason were still outside when the movie ended. Nico watched the credits roll, wondering what the other two were talking about. Maybe it was camp business.

Nico got up from the couch and went to look at the photos on the bookshelf. There was a few of Percy when he was as little as Lucy, which was kind of hard to imagine. Nico also found one from when Percy was around fourteen years old, the same age as when Nico had first met him. Nico smiled bitterly at the picture. It seemed a lifetime ago.

Nico turned as he heard steps behind him. Percy and Jason were walking towards him. Both of them looked strangely determined, like they were walking to battle.

“What’s going on?” Nico asked.

“Nothing. We just need to ask you something,” Percy said. “Which one of us do you like better?”

Nico blinked. “What?”

“Do you like me or Jason better?” Percy clarified, like it made any more sense that way.

“What’s this about?” Nico asked suspiciously, eyeing them both.

“Just answer the question. Please,” Jason said, and Nico was honestly surprised he was in on this, whatever this was.

“Fine,” Nico said. “You’re both morons in equal measure. Happy?”

“You’re saying you like us both equally?” Percy confirmed, frowning as he turned to look at Jason. “That won't do. We need to settle this somehow.”

“Settle what?” Nico asked, getting more confused by the minute. “What are you playing at?”

“We’re not playing,” Percy walked towards him, looking extremely serious, and Nico was considering running away. Then Percy grabbed his shoulders, and he couldn’t escape anymore.

“Percy,” Jason was saying. “You shouldn’t…”

“Push me away and I’ll stop, okay?” Percy said, and Nico didn’t understand what he meant. Then Percy’s lips was on his.

Percy’s lips. On his. Percy Jackson was kissing him. 

It couldn’t be happening. Every part Nico’s brain was screaming that it couldn’t be happening. Percy’s hand was on Nico’s chin, urging him to open his mouth. Nico didn’t think he’d have the motor skills needed for even that much movement, but somehow his mouth opened anyway. Then Percy’s tongue was in his mouth and this wasn’t _happening_!

All of the sudden it really wasn’t happening, because Percy pulled back. He was smiling slightly at Nico, who remained frozen in place.

“You let us know which one you like best, right?” Percy said and it made _no sense_ , until Jason appeared from nowhere and put a hand on Nico’s shoulder. Nico wondered if he’d fallen asleep again, because that was the only way this was even remotely possible. 

“This is real,” Jason said, like he’d been reading Nico’s thoughts. “We’re not playing with you. If you don’t want this, just tell me.”

How was Nico supposed to tell him anything after Jason covered his mouth with his own, even if he’d had the mental capacity needed to form words right now? Jason was less forceful than Percy, much gentler and Nico couldn’t believe he had the frame of reference to compare the two. 

Jason took a step back, and Percy and him were both watching Nico, as if they were waiting for him to say something. What was he supposed to say? That this exceeded his wildest dreams? That this probably _was_ one of his wildest dreams and waking up would be awkward for them all? That he hated himself for being unable to respond to either of them when he had the chance?

“Umm...” Nico managed, and then nothing more. It was a sound at least. What more were they expecting from him after that?

“Are you okay?” Jason asked, taking a step closer and putting a hand on Nico’s shoulder again. What kind of a question was that?

Percy walked up on his other side, looking at Nico uncertainly. “Did we break him?” Percy asked, and Nico punched him long before he realized his paralysis had broken.

“Fuck you, Percy Jackson!” Nico yelled. “What the hell was that?”

“Ouch,” Percy said, sitting up on the floor where Nico’s punch had sent him. He didn't seem angry. Instead he looked sad. “I guess that answered the question, then. Damnit.”

“Probably not in the way you think,” Jason said, mirroring Percy's sad expression. Percy frowned as he looked up at him, and Nico had had enough.

“What are you two talking about?” he demanded. “If you don’t give me a damned good explanation _right now_ , I’m leaving, and I’m not coming back.” 

“Percy wanted to ask you out,” Jason said, looking down at the floor. Nico stared at him. His life clearly wasn’t planning on making sense today.

“Jason wanted to do that too, but he didn’t think you liked him,” Percy said, massaging his slowly bruising chin. “So we decided to ask you which one of us you liked better.”

“I'm sorry,” Jason said, glancing at Nico. “I should have just stepped back.”

“This is crazy. It makes no sense,” Nico said, sinking down into the couch with his head in his hands. “I’m dreaming. I don’t understand.”

Jason sat down beside him, and Percy soon did the same on Nico’s other side. Maybe now they would tell it had all been a cruel, cruel joke all along, and then Nico would at least know how to react.

“Nico, it’s okay,” Jason said gently. “You can just tell him. It’ll be fine.”

It wouldn’t be fine. Things weren’t that simple. Cupid, that bastard, had known that. This whole thing was probably his doing. 

That would explain _everything_ , really. He bet the love god thought he was doing Nico a favor. Or maybe he just enjoyed messing with him. Nico shouldn’t let this get to him. Percy and Jason would probably return to normal tomorrow. But Nico couldn’t run away. Even if he wanted to. He had to tell the truth, for once.

“Tell me what?” Percy asked, but Nico shook his head.

“It doesn’t matter anymore,” Nico said. He took a deep breath and repeated: “You’re both morons in equal measure.”

He had planned on leaving it like that and come back later when the other two had cleared their heads of whatever spell lay over them right now, but they grabbed his arms the moment he made a movement to leave.

“Wait,” Percy said. “You’re saying you _still_ like us equally?”

“Nico, you don’t have to hide anything anymore,” Jason said, because he really was just as much of an idiot as Percy. Nico's crush on Jason may be more recent, but it was just as strong as what he felt for Percy. Nico had never imagined he would be asked to choose. It wasn’t like he stood a chance with either of them, unless someone bewitched them. Like this. 

“I’m not hiding. I mean it,” Nico said. “Now let me go.”

“No way we’re letting you go after that,” Percy said, leaning closer to Nico. “There has to be a way to settle this.”

“It’s not a competition,” Jason said, but as he was mirroring Percy’s movements he wasn’t very convincing. They were practically breathing into his ears now, and the sensation sent shivers down Nico’s spine. He should leave before they had a chance to do something they’d regret tomorrow. He really should, but for some reason he wasn’t moving.

Percy broke the strange stalemate, planting a kiss just below Nico’s ear, and Nico drew a sharp breath at the touch. Jason, despite his claim that this wasn’t a competition, apparently took that as a challenge and moved his mouth down Nico’s throat and slowly licked the outline of his collarbone. Nico gasped for air. Percy was sucking his neck now, Jason was kissing his adams apple and Nico was slowly ending up with Percy at his back and Jason at his front. Like he had woken up this morning. He should have known then that the world had turned upside down. 

Percy and Jason seemed to be competing about who could make Nico make the most undignified noises, and it was quickly headed in a more dangerous direction. Percy’s hands were inside his shirt, exploring his naked skin while making it difficult for him to breath. He was still doing creative things to Nico’s neck.

“Anything you don’t want, just say stop,” Jason murmured in Nico's ear, before moving downwards to kiss his exposed stomach, which was way too skinny and Jason shouldn’t have wanted to be anywhere near it. Jason apparently didn’t care, as kissed a trail going from his stomach back up to his right nipple. Nico moaned slightly as Jason circled the nipple with his tongue. How the hell was he supposed to say no to _this_? 

Nico’s moan seemed to urge Percy even further, as his hands were reaching around Nico’s waist and fumbling with the zipper of his jeans. Nico tensed up, realizing in the back of his mind that if he didn’t put a stop to this, nothing would. He couldn’t. After years of dreaming, denying and repressing, he just couldn’t tell them to stop. Even if it made him a coward.

Jason must have seen what Percy was doing, because suddenly his hand was there, opening the button that was giving Percy problems because he couldn’t see it. "If you don't want to, just tell us." Jason said, then his mouth was on Nico’s again, and he did his best to respond despite the fact that Percy’s hands were now inside his pants, bringing them downwards while moving closer to the area that Nico both dreaded and anticipated for him to touch.

Jason got there first, and Nico moaned right into his mouth. Percy's hands joined a moment later, and it was all Nico could do not to let himself go right then and there. Whoever said these two couldn't work together had been so, so wrong.

Percy was mercilessly kissing the nape of Nico’s neck, while Jason was doing the same for his throat, leaving Nico’s mouth free to gasp loudly for air as their hands kept touching, stroking, caressing. Nico didn’t last long.

He covered his mouth with both hands in a vain attempt to hide the scream that escaped him as the pleasure reached its peak. He wasn’t even remotely successful. Percy chuckled in his ear and Jason kissed his eyelid as they finally let go of him. Nico breathed heavily into his hands.

As the afterglow faded, he slowly started to realize what he had let happen. What he had done. Nico felt sick, and filthy. He let out a sob before he could stop himself, then the tears started falling.

“Nico, what’s wrong?” Jason asked, sounding alarmed. Nico didn’t deserve their concern. He pushed Jason away and attempted to stand up. His legs failed him.

“Nico, come on,” Percy said. “Tell us what’s wrong!”

“I’m sorry,” Nico choked. “I’m so, so sorry. This should never have happened. Tomorrow you’ll realize that.”

He scrambled to his feet. Jason tried to grab him, but he slapped the hand away.

“Please, don’t hate me,” he said, reaching the shadow of the bookcase. “I’m so sorry.”

As Percy screamed at him to wait, Nico let the shadows swallow him up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Long chapter is long.
> 
> Anyway, please let me know what you guys think, and thank you so much for reading!


	3. Chapter 3

Jason stared numbly at the spot where Nico had been standing just moments before. Percy was throwing a fit behind him, and Jason couldn’t bring himself to care.

“What the hell?” Percy yelled. “Why would he do that? What the hell did he mean, tomorrow?”

Jason wanted to punch him, but this was as much his own fault as it was Percy’s. Maybe even more so, because he should have know. He should have known Nico would react like this. That he wouldn’t believe them. That he’d think it was a trick, or a spell, or something. 

“We should have given him time,” Jason said quietly, and Percy stopped shouting. “We shouldn’t have rushed it. Things should never have gone that far.”

“You’re saying it’s our fault?” Percy asked, angry and confused.

“Nico probably thinks we we’re under a spell of some kind,” Jason said, sinking down on the floor, exhausted. “With the way we acted, it isn’t really that surprising.”

“Why would he think that?” Percy said, sitting down in front of him. “I mean, we told him we liked him. We gave him every opportunity to back out. Why wouldn’t he believe us?”

“If you really have to ask, you’re more stupid than I thought,” Jason said harshly. “He’s been alone since he was ten years old. Nobody trusts him because of who his father is. Nobody’s really accepted him since his sister died.”

“I did. You did. And Hazel,” Percy insisted.

“All within the last two years. Hazel is his sister. But do you have any idea how hard it was to get him to trust me?” Jason said. “And you...well, Nico probably has way more difficulty believing you could fall for him than that I could.”

“I don’t understand.”

“I shouldn’t be the one to tell you, but he said it doesn’t matter anymore,” Jason said hesitatingly. “And given the circumstances...”

“What are you trying to say?” Percy asked angrily. Jason sighed.

“I’m saying that Nico’s had a crush on you pretty much since you first met, and you’ve never noticed,” he said, watching Percy’s face turn from anger to stunned shock.

“What?” he finally managed. “I thought...Annabeth...”

“Everybody did. He preferred it that way,” Jason said. “He’s from the forties, Percy. He didn’t exactly accept himself either.”

“That’s what happened in Croatia,” Percy said slowly, apparently starting to understand. “You met Cupid, and you found out.”

“Yes,” Jason said tiredly. “Which is why today was the worst day possible for this. Nico thinks Cupid is messing with him. I should have realized.”

Percy was quiet for a while. “This sucks!” he finally exclaimed, hitting the floor with his fist. “We need to go find him.”

“How?” Jason asked. “If Nico doesn’t want to be found it’ll be impossible.”

“So we’re just supposed to leave things like this?” Percy spat.

“Of course not, but we need to give him some time,” Jason said. “I don’t like it any more than you do.”

“Right,” Percy muttered. “I’ll give him until tomorrow, but only because I can't leave right now anyway. Then I’m going after him. He’s probably in the underworld.”

“Probably,” Jason agreed, getting up. “I’m heading back to Camp Half-Blood. I’ll bring back some pegasi and meet you outside tomorrow morning.”

“Fine,” Percy said. “Don’t be late, or I'll leave without you.”

Just before flying off the balcony Jason heard Lucy starting to cry again. 

 

The first thing Jason did after arriving in Camp Half-Blood was take a long shower. He wasn’t proud of it, considering what had happened, but the sounds of Nico’s moans still rang in his ears, and he couldn’t resist the temptation. Jason felt guilty as he walked back to the Jupiter Cabin afterwards.

It wasn’t just that he had broken Nico’s trust and hurt him in ways he’d never forgive himself for. Unlike Percy, he hadn’t even broken up with his girlfriend yet. Jason resolutely grabbed a golden drachma to call Piper as soon as he opened the door. Even if Nico chose Percy in the end, Jason had already cheated on her. He owed it to Piper to come clean, and break things off.

Piper looked sleepy when he reached her, but she smiled brightly towards him. It only made him feel worse.

“Jason, hi! What’s up?” she said. “It’s pretty late.”

“Sorry. I needed to talk to you,” Jason said, and he really didn’t want to do this, but he had to.

“What’s wrong?” Piper asked, and Jason took a deep breath.

“I think we should break up.”

Piper was silent, staring at him in surprise. She looked hurt, just like Jason knew she would. Jason hated that look. All he seemed to do nowadays was hurting people.

“Why?” Piper asked. “I know I haven’t been around much lately, but...”

“It’s not you,” Jason said hastily. “I’ve fallen for someone else. I’m sorry.”

“It’s Nico, isn’t it?” Piper asked, and actually laughed at his stunned expression. “Come on, I’ve seen the way you two are together. Does he know?”

“He doesn’t believe me,” Jason said sadly, and Piper looked at him sympathetically.

“It’s pretty confusing, realizing you have feelings for somebody of the same sex, isn’t it?”

“Sounds like you’re talking from experience,” Jason said, and Piper nodded shyly.

“I’ve been having long conversations with Reyna over the IM,” she said, sounding slightly guilty. “It’s nothing official, but I think it might be heading in that direction. I should have told you, but I wasn't sure what I wanted.”

“It’s okay,” Jason said, actually relieved. He'd had a feeling she was seeing someone else, after all, though he hadn’t expected it to be Reyna.

“So, friends?” Piper asked hopefully, and Jason smiled at her.

“Friends,” he confirmed. “I’ll let you go back to sleep now.”

“Good luck with Nico,” Piper said, then her image blurred out and disappeared. Jason felt lighter. That had gone better than he’d expected. He could only pray tomorrow would be the same, but he doubted it.

Sighing, Jason went to sleep.

***

Percy had already been waiting for a while when Jason finally arrived with the pegasi. Not Blackjack. He probably wasn’t back at camp yet.

Percy hadn’t been able to sleep at all during the night. After Jason left Lucy had been screaming for half an hour before calming down, then Percy had to clean up the mess they’d left in the kitchen and Iiving room. He had pretended to be asleep when his mother and Paul came home. His mother would have noticed something was wrong immediately, and Percy really didn’t want to talk to her about this.

He had been laying in bed the rest of the night, awake. He was thinking about Nico, and what Jason had said. The news that Nico’d had a crush on Percy for years was still shocking, but thinking back it made a lot of sense. It completely explained Nico’s strange behavior towards him, and Percy couldn’t believe he hadn’t noticed. He felt like the world's biggest jerk for how he had treated him. If they managed to find Nico and he chose Jason, Percy wouldn’t even complain.

He borrowed Paul’s old portable boombox and some records (“borrowed” in the sense that he probably wasn’t going to get them back) and then got on the pegasi Jason brought.

“We’re taking Orpheus’ entrance,” Percy said when Jason asked about the boom box. Jason laughed drily.

“Seems fitting,” he said, and Percy had to smile. He hadn’t even thought of that. 

“Let’s hope we have more success than he did,” Percy said.

They flew in silence until they reached the entrance Nico had shown him all those years ago. _Was he in love with me even then?_ Percy wondered. Considering the kid had sold him out to Hades, it didn’t seem likely. On the other had Nico had begged for forgiveness immediately afterwards, and had rescued him and convinced his father to join the battle, so maybe he was.

Percy started up the boombox outside the entrance, which opened reluctantly, like it suspected it was being tricked.

“Last time I had to call Grover to get through,” Percy said as they entered. “I can’t believe Nico didn’t sing himself.”

“Maybe he was embarrassed,” Jason suggested. “He seemed pretty reluctant about it yesterday, as well.”

“When we find him, we need to do something about his self esteem,” Percy said. “You’d think having two hot guys panting after him would do the trick, but no.”

“Maybe it will, once he believes us,” Jason said. “Where do you think he is?”

“Hades’ palace, probably,” Percy said, leading the way. “Let’s just hope his father doesn’t make us stay permanently. He doesn’t exactly like me.”

“Just how many gods have you pissed off in your life?” Jason asked in disbelief. Percy shrugged.

“Most of them, at one point or another,” he said. “Some of them really like me, though.”

“Let’s hope so.”

They reached the river Styx, and Percy remembered the last time he’d been here, bathing and almost dying for a chance to beat Kronos. That had been Nico’s idea, too. Without him they never would have won that battle.

“You know, I never really realized how much he did for me,” Percy told Jason as they continued on. “I always figured he was working towards his own ends.”

“He was, in a way,” Jason said, smiling slightly. “He’s always trying to protect the ones he loves, which includes you.”

“And you,” Percy pointed out. “But we’ll deal with that when we find him.”

They could see Hades’ palace in the distance now. The gaping entrance to Tartarus was almost within sight as well, and Percy swallowed hard. He didn’t want to go anywhere near that place, but to find Nico, he had to. He steeled himself as he moved forward.

“Is that Cerberus?” Jason asked, looking in the other direction. Percy nodded as he was the three headed dog.

“Yes. He can be surprisingly friendly, if you play with him,” Percy said, narrowing his eyes as he looked at the dog. He was behaving strangely, lying still while his heads moved up and down. That’s when Percy saw the small figure sitting beside him.

“Is that Nico?” Percy asked, starting to move closer. Jason followed him.

“I can’t say for sure. Could be,” Jason said hopefully, and as they moved closer, there was no doubt about it. Nico was sitting with his back turned towards them, leaning against Cerberus' paw and silently petting his three heads in succession. Cerberus was whimpering slightly, like he felt Nico was sad and wanted to cheer him up.

When the dog noticed them approaching he raised his heads to growl loudly at them, warning them not to come closer. It took all of Percy’s willpower to resist the urge to run. Jason looked pale beside him, but he hadn’t moved, either.

Nico turned around. He looked like he had been crying for a long time, his eyes red and his cheeks puffy. He stared at them in shock, and Percy was afraid he’d run away again.

“Don’t you dare run, you hear me!” Percy shouted angrily, and Cerberus showed his teeth. He would attack if they got any closer, Percy was sure of it.

“Nico, please,” Jason said. “Come here. We need to talk to you.”

“I have nothing to say,” Nico answered, probably trying to sound defiant, but his voice crackled.

“But we do,” Percy said. “And we’ll stand here and shout it for the whole Underworld to hear if you don’t come here.”

Nico hesitated for a moment, then his shoulders slumped. He petted Cerberus’ closest head briefly as he started walking towards them, and the dog whimpered sadly. Nico was keeping his gaze fixed on the ground when he approached.

Percy was torn between hugging him or punching him in the face. He would have chosen the latter if Nico didn’t look like he’d been beaten to the ground already. Jason probably didn’t have the same dilemma Percy did, because his arms were around Nico before Percy could make a final decision.

“I was so worried we wouldn’t find you,” Jason said into Nico’s hair. Nico had tensed up completely, but Jason didn’t let go of him for a while. Even when he finally pulled back he kept hold of Nico’s wrist, probably in case he tried to run away after all.

“You are an idiot,” Percy said, almost regretting his harsh tone when Nico flinched. At first Percy planned on hugging him like Jason had done. Instead he leaned in and kissed him.

For a moment, Nico froze. Then he pushed Percy away, hard.

“Stop it,” Nico said, his voice shaking. “This isn’t you. Stop it.”

“Nico, I promise you, this is us,” Jason said, taking a hold of Nico’s arm with his other hand as well. “We’re not under any spell.”

“Yes, you are,” Nico said, sounding desperate. “You have to be. You wouldn’t be doing any of this otherwise.”

“This is why I said you’re an idiot,” Percy said. “Thinking nobody could want you of their own free will.”

“ _You_ couldn’t,” Nico insisted, talking to the ground again.

“Hey, look at me,” Percy demanded, lightly touching Nico’s face to bring it back up. “I admit it’s a pretty recent thing, but I wanted you before we freed Cupid. He’s got nothing to do with this. Same with Jason.”

“It’s been coming gradually, and I didn’t really realize until the quest,” Jason nodded. “But it’s definitely as real as anything I’ve ever felt. You need to know that.”

“But...” Nico said weakly. “I...I don’t..."

"Don't what?" Percy asked. "Don't like us back? That's fine, but you still need to know we're serious here."

"That's not what I meant!" Nico said. "I'm a guy. We're all guys."

"Nico, it's okay," Jason said. "Neither of us care about that."

"Right." Percy nodded. "I mean, I never expected to be attracted to a guy, but it happened. It's not a big deal."

"How can you be so casual about this?" Nico asked, sounding on the verge of tears again. 

"Nico, I've told you before. Times have changed." Jason said. "People are pretty accepting of this sort of thing nowadays."

"Besides," Percy added. "Compared to some relationships I've seen and heard about since finding out who my father is, this isn't even strange."

Nico didn't answer. He stared at them in silence, like he wasn't sure whether they were making fun of him or not.

“That’s all we wanted to say,” Percy said after the silence had dragged on for a while. “It’s your turn to tell us what _you_ want. Do you want us to leave?”

“No!” Nico said immediately. “No, I don’t. I’m sorry, I didn’t...I’m… I’m so confused.”

“Do you want to come with us back to Camp Half-Blood?” Jason asked gently. “The Underworld probably isn’t the best place for this conversation.”

“You’re just saying that because you hate being underground,” Percy said, but Nico nodded slightly.

“You’re right. We should go,” he said, leading them out of the Underworld in silence.

Considering Nico’s state of mind Percy had been a bit hesitant about letting him shadow travel, but they ended up right outside the Poseidon cabin anyway. A couple of campers walking by yelped in surprise as they appeared.

“Let’s talk inside,” Percy said, opening the door to his cabin and urging Nico and Jason inside. The cabin was pretty much a mess, but he figured they wouldn’t care.

Nico was standing awkwardly in the middle of the room while Percy and Jason both sat down on Percy’s bed. He looked at them uncomfortably.

“We’re not going to molest you, Nico. Come here,” Percy said, patting the space between him and Jason. Nico blushed, but he walked over and sat down, tense as a bowstring. For a while nobody said anything.

“Nico, I don’t want to pressure you, but we kinda need to know,” Jason finally sighed. “You know we both like you, but you haven’t said which one of us you like better. If any.”

Nico muttered something that was impossible to hear.

“Sorry, what?” Percy asked. Nico frowned.

“I said I like you both,” Nico said angrily. “It’s not like I ever expected having to choose. I didn’t think I’d have a chance with either of you.”

“Oh,” Percy said, stunned. Well, he still loved Annabeth, in a way, so he supposed it wasn’t so strange.

“You’re going to have to make a decision, though,” Jason said. Percy was beginning to wonder if that was true. Like he'd said earlier, they had seen plenty of really strange relationships, right?

“How? Flip a coin?” Nico asked, covering his face with his hands. “I can’t, okay? I’m sorry.”

“Actually,” Percy said, catching Jason’s eye behind Nico’s hunched back. “Things worked well enough yesterday, didn’t they? I’m okay with sharing if you are.”

Two pair of eyes stared at him, shocked and strangely scandalized. For a moment Percy wondered if Nico was going to start fanning himself the way Hazel did, then he turned to look at Jason, and Percy couldn’t see what expression he was wearing. Jason cleared his throat. 

“I suppose,” he said hesitatingly. “I mean, if Nico doesn’t mind.”

“Are you two serious?” Nico asked, sounding like he expected them to start laughing at him any moment. 

“Completely serious,” Percy said, leaning over to kiss Nico’s eyelid.

“Is that okay?” Jason asked, following Percy’s example but aiming for Nico’s neck instead. Nico's breath hitched, and Percy grinned. They might have agreed to share, but it would probably end up in a competition anyway. Percy was fine with that. 

However, Nico was apparently not going to sit still this time. “Of course it’s okay,” he said harshly and claimed Percy’s mouth for his own. It was obvious Nico didn’t have much experience with kissing, but he made a good effort, and Percy was more than happy to teach. Meanwhile Percy’s hands kept moving down Nico’s body. Jason had apparently found the hem of his shirt already, because his stomach was completely exposed. 

Nico suddenly pulled back to gasp at something Jason had done, and Percy took the opportunity to bring Nico’s shirt over his head. Jason was sucking his neck the moment the shirt was gone, and Nico turned his head to kiss him, even though the angle seemed a bit awkward. While still kissing Jason, Nico opened his eyes slightly and reached out for Percy. Percy was pretty sure that was the most arousing thing he’d ever seen.

Percy brought his face close to Nico’s chest, sucking the trail of red marks Jason had left yesterday, going downwards. Jason had already opened Nico’s pants and was reaching inside. Percy pushed his hand away and dragged Nico’s pants a bit further down. He took a deep breath. This wasn’t something he’d ever considered doing, but he knew how good it could feel. Percy wanted to make Nico feel that good.

Nico moaned loudly as Percy’s mouth found its target. He wasn’t really sure he was doing this right, but Nico’s hand was suddenly in his hair, urging him on. 

“Percy,” Nico gasped, and the sound went straight to Percy’s groin. “Jason,” Nico continued, which was less attractive, but didn’t bother Percy like he thought it would have. He was trying new stuff with his tongue now, and Nico was certainly enjoying it.

“Percy, please,” Nico moaned. “I’m going to...”

Percy grinned, using his hands rather than his mouth for the last few strokes, mostly because he wanted to be able to see Nico’s face. He wasn’t disappointed. Nico threw his head back against Jason’s shoulder, making a loud incoherent noise that has somewhere between a moan and a scream. Then he sagged back, boneless in Jason’s arms, panting heavily. 

Percy grinned widely as he leaned in for a kiss.

“You’re not running away this time, right?” Percy said when they parted. “‘Cause that would be kinda unfair, you know.”

“It really would,” Jason chuckled behind Nico, who blushed deeply. 

“Let me just catch my breath,” he said, looking strangely shy for someone who’d agreed to date two guys at the same time. He sat up straighter and turned a bit to the side so he could look at both of them. “Umm, I haven't actually...how are we doing this?”

He was so cute Percy couldn’t help but laugh, but Jason just smiled. “Anyway you want,” he said gently, pulling Nico closer. “Touch me?”

Which meant Percy was sitting this one out. It was a bit of a bummer, considering how tight his pants felt, but on the other hand watching Nico as Jason gently guided his hands towards his groin was a definite turn on. Jason made appreciative sounds as Nico touched him, and once Nico found the rhythm he leaned in for a kiss. Jason lasted longer than Percy though strictly necessary, but that was probably his own impatience talking. When Nico and Jason shared a long kiss afterwards Percy was seriously considering interrupting. 

Finally, Nico turned towards him, smiling slightly.

“And here I thought you were forgetting about me,” Percy said drily, unable to resist. Nico rolled his eyes.

“Like I would. And you could have joined in, you know,” Nico said, blushing, and Percy blinked. He hadn’t really considered that.

“Maybe next time,” Percy said, catching Nico’s mouth with his own and burying his hands in his dark curls. Nico was bolder now, his fingers opening Percy’s zipper without Percy having to urge him to. Percy moaned happily into Nico’s bare neck as Nico begun pumping him. His neck was already full of hickeys, but Percy couldn’t resist leaving another one. Hearing Nico gasp was a definitive triumph. Percy wondered if he was hard again. He was just about to check, when Nico increased his pace and Percy’s thoughts became a scramble and Nico’s name was the only coherent thing in them. He didn’t last nearly as long as Jason had.

Nico actually chuckled as Percy collapsed against him. Percy felt much too good to care. He noticed Nico reached out for Jason to join them, and Percy didn’t mind that, either. They were a lazy pile on his bed, just barely avoiding falling off the narrow mattress

“If you two are spending the night,” Percy said sleepily. “Then we’re going to have to move to the floor.”

“Mmm, in a while,” Jason murmured, his face almost hidden behind Nico’s hair. “Let’s just stay like this for a bit.”

Percy wanted to call him out on being a softie, but that would have meant moving, and besides, he agreed. This was a pretty good place to be right now.

“Are you two sure this is okay? I mean, with me?” Nico asked uncertainly, because the way Percy and Jason had been worshipping his body earlier had apparently passed him by unnoticed.

“We went to Hades to bring you back, you idiot,” Percy scowled. “That should tell you everything you need to know. Stop asking.”

Nico flinched. “Sorry,” he said.

“What Percy was trying to say is that you should have more confidence in yourself,” Jason said, smoothing things over. “We wouldn’t be here if we didn’t want this.”

Percy nodded, lazily planting a kiss on Nico’s earlobe. “That’s what I was saying. And that you make the cutest sounds and I’m never letting go of you again.”

“I can live with that,” Nico said with an embarrassed laugh.

“Also you should sing more,” Jason added, and Percy agreed.

“Right now, for instance,” Percy suggested, watching with fascination as Nico’s face turned redder and redder.

“I don’t sing,” Nico muttered, and it was the lamest excuse Percy had ever heard.

“You did yesterday,” he pointed out. “And I learned from my sister, so I’m going to be pestering you until you do.”

“Come on, Nico,” Jason urged, and Nico sighed deeply.

“Fine,” he gave in, and softly begun to sing the same lullaby they had heard the day before. Percy closed his eyes and rested his head on Nico’s shoulder, letting his voice carry him off to sleep. He had seldom felt so at peace.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaaand it's done! It's been quite a ride, and you guys have been amazing! A million thanks to everyone who's read this, and I hope you've enjoyed it! <3

**Author's Note:**

> Getting three people together are so much harder than just two, but also a lot more fun. :)
> 
> Thanks for reading! Comments are always appreciated!


End file.
